Helping Other People

I was loading my car with groceries, when someone called, ” Wait a minute, and I will help you!” I turned around and a man stood behind me. In a soft voice, he said, “I heard you in the store ask for help and no one came; therefore, can I help you?”

I said, “Yes!”

After we loaded everything in the trunk of the car, we talked about people helping each other. He said that he just retired from being a truck driver and he likes helping people. He volunteers at his church, and likes working with children.

Since I turned 81 years old, I have noticed that it seems like there are many people who want to help you: they open doors for you, they carry food to the table for you, if you drop something on the floor, they will pick it up for you, and they will open up doors and hold them open until you pass through.

What makes it rough for an older person is that you've done everything for yourself and it is hard to take help from someone else. Sometimes you can’t believe a stranger is helping you. You get the feeling that they are going to take advantage of you, but then you realize that they just want to help, and you want to pay them back, but you don’t know how to, and before you realize it they are gone.

Life has its strange ways: when you are a baby you need help, when you are a teenager you need help, when you are middle age you need help, and all of a sudden you are an elder and you still need help.

Because of all this help you got, you want to give help back and many times you are confused because you don’t know how, and it seems like you are too old to help.

Because of your age, the only thing that you can do is to accept the help and say, “Thank you.”

When I help someone, I am happy that I still can help people at my age—81 years old.